Everything I know about food, I learned from Guy Fieri

Remembering my first visit to Five Guys

One thing I’ve wanted for a long time is a Five Guys burger. They recently opened their first Toronto location at Yonge & Dundas, in a space partially vacated by the HMV Megastore. It’s been there since last summer, but I hadn’t had a chance to go… until today.

Anyways, Five Guys Yonge St has a light-up sign in homage to the former Sam the Record Man next door, albeit on a much smaller scale. Their open-concept establishment contains ample seating that allows you to watch what’s going on behind the grill. The chalkboard proudly states that their potatoes come from Alberton, PEI, and there are several bags stacked near the entrance for your spud-porn pleasure. It’s not much of a mystery as to how they got there–after all, the people of PEI have a key to the city. Thanks, Mel Lastman!

Anyhoo, I had the double-cheeseburger with regular-sized Cajun fries and an iced tea. The spread looked a little something like this:

There are testaments on the wall as to how amazing the burgers are, and hey, they don’t disappoint. Two thick, juicy patties with an abundance of free fresh toppings that enhance the palette; the sharpness of the pickles, the smoothness of the mushrooms (I loves me some mushroom burgers!), the almost-overpowering kick of the jalapenos. It occurred to me that most places use banana peppers, not jalapenos, as burger toppings, and I was quickly reminded why between extended swigs of soda.

As for the fries, well, I think going Cajun-style mighta been a mistake. The seasoning was a little too salty, ruining the taste of an otherwise perfect PEI potato. And for the record, there were a lot more fries than seen above; just about as many in the paper bag as were in the paper cup. They apparently don’t do trays at this place…

Anyways, while the food was all quite tasty–Cajun fries aside–the price was a little steep at $16 for the combo. You’ll hafta take full advantage of all the free toppings, free peanuts and free refills to really get your money’s worth.